An effective business case is the foundation for a successful implementation of a digital transformation program. Yet drafting a compelling digital transformation business case can be a balancing act.
In this blog, 9Yards Senior Consultant Jodie Rugless provides insights on how to build a business case that both aligns with your organisation’s priorities and sets your digital transformation project up for successful execution.
This balancing act is one she is familiar with. “One of the challenges that we see all the time is striking the balance between creating a business case that is acceptable to the board, while still being achievable by the project team.”
Get it wrong, she says, and a business case may align with strategic goals but be impossible to actually deliver. Alternatively, and just as problematic, is a business case that’s technically feasible but doesn’t align with your organisation’s strategic goals will never get approval.
For CIOs, CTOs, IT managers and technology leaders, getting this right is essential; for securing funding, and for delivering real outcomes.
Use proven forecasting tools to anchor your digital transformation business case in reality, not optimism
Inevitably, a business case must consider both the cost of delivery and the timeline for benefits realisation.
A strong business case must reflect what’s genuinely achievable and must also be financially sound. Yet it’s often easy to underestimate both the cost and the time required to achieve value.
9Yards digital transformation consultants use proven resource forecasting and financial modeling when developing and reviewing business cases. These models account for things like CPI indexing, market rate changes, and role-specific rate cards. For example, a business analyst estimated at $1,000 a day during planning might turn out to cost $1,500 in market reality. A relatively small change can make a difference that compounds over time into a serious budget discrepancy.
Rugless notes, “Assumptions are often used as a risk mitigation strategy. But if they’re vague or optimistic, they don’t protect anyone. Where assumptions are unavoidable, document them precisely and update them the moment they’re no longer valid.
Modelling against realistic expectations makes it easier to accurately estimate effort, cost, and timeframes, allowing for grounded planning from day one.
“One of the challenges is that anyone involved in writing a business case wants the piece of work to go ahead,” says Rugless. “This makes them innately optimistic when they put the business case together. The experience and skills that 9Yards digital transformation consultants offer, can temper that perfectly natural enthusiasm with a ‘lens of reality’”
Make the benefit realisation strategy part of the business case
It’s easy to fall into the trap of assuming that business benefits magically appear post-delivery. In reality, benefit realisation continues long after the program ends.
An effective business case includes a benefits strategy that designates ownership, timelines, and metrics, and ensures that the organisation is positioned to recognise those benefits.
Key takeaway: Benefit realisation should not be an afterthought. It needs resourcing, governance, and active management. Boards and executives care about outcomes, not just deliverables. Including this in your business case can help demonstrate both long-term value and maturity of planning.
Understand the procurement process, including government tenders
Whether you’re working in the public or private sector, formal procurement processes are increasingly the norm. Government agencies assess vendors using weighted criteria across price, capability, and value. Private businesses often follow similar tendering and proposal formats.
This matters for your digital transformation business case because the procurement process is time-consuming and resource-intensive. Decisions are based not only on pricing, but also about achievability, comparative value and even factors such as cultural fit.
Key takeaway: To give your project the best chance of success, you need to allow time and resourcing for both conducting procurement (if you’re the buyer) or responding to it (if you’re the vendor).
Plan for variation and review, even if the board doesn’t ask for it
Many organisations genuinely plan to review a business case if cost, quality or scope significantly change. Unfortunately, reviews rarely happen in practice.
Consistent formatting, plain language, and clear logic can make the difference between something that gets read and reviewed, and something that’s filed away unread. Focusing on clear presentation and readability should not be an afterthought. These attributes will have a huge impact on accessibility and impact.
Key takeaway: Include a mechanism for regular review in your digital transformation business case (and stick to it). A business case should be a living document, not a fixed sales pitch. Committing to review and update protects both delivery outcomes and leadership credibility.
A business case is a decision-making tool
“The business case is a tool not only to get projects over the line, but also to rule projects out.” – Jodie Rugless
A good business case should support good decisions and sometimes the right decision is that the project shouldn’t go ahead. If the case doesn’t stack up, forcing it through with weak assumptions or political pressure will only backfire later.
How 9Yards digital transformation consultants can help
If you’re preparing a business case, or need to review an existing business case, 9Yards digital transformation consultants can help. We can:
- Build the business case with proven models and frameworks grounded in our real-world delivery experience
- Review your existing business case to identify hidden risks, outdated assumptions or gaps in feasibility
- Help you establish internal tools for consistent, repeatable business case development that supports better decision-making.
Whichever stage you’re at, it’s worth asking: does your business case really align with both your strategy and your capacity to deliver? If not, let’s talk.
